Oasis on the airwaves
Listening to what God is telling us is a crucial part of apprenticeship to Christ. In the same way, we want to make sure that we're constantly listening to the needs and views of the young people we work with. One very tangible way in which we do this is through our summer radio stations.
The programme was piloted in our Waterloo Hub and was an unprecedented success - over 200 young people came together over the summer not only to broadcast their shows but also to get involved in photography and writing workshops, which were held at the same time.
We also hosted Summer University, a scheme through which young people could get accreditation in radio production. Two of our star students then went on to interview Simon Hughes MP and London Mayor Boris Johnson.
The summer activities aim to encourage healthy living and build self-esteem as well as diverting young people from antisocial behaviour and empowering them to make a positive contribution to their community. Although crime-reduction isn't our primary focus through this project, local police confirmed that youth crime dropped significantly in SE1 during the four weeks that we ran the station in Waterloo last summer.
Rachel, a volunteer Youth Worker in our Waterloo Hub, says, "Living in an area that has so muchnegative press and poor associations, young people thrive on the opportunities Southside provides, and many of them stick around for the rest of the year to join in with all the other programmes the Hub runs. I've never had so much fun just hanging out with young people andseeing them develop their already incredible talents, and it seems they enjoy it too as they
keep coming back, asking for more and more."
To join in the fun, log onto www.oasisuk.org/radio throughout the month of August.
It costs upwards of £6,000 to set up one of our summer radio stations. Please give a gift today to ensure that we can continue running programmes like our hub radio stations.